Page 36 of An Inside Job

“Not for the first time,” she pointed out.

“And yet here I am.”

She smiled but said nothing.

“How did you know that I was in Rome?”

“Father Keegan mentioned it.”

“Do the two of you speak often?”

“Now and again,” she replied. “He told me that you dropped by the Vatican today to see the Holy Father and suggested I invite you to dinner.”

“Any particular reason?”

“He was merely concerned with your well-being.”

“He loathes me.”

“He resents the closeness of your relationship with his master, but he admires you greatly. And why shouldn’t he? If it wasn’t for you, he would be teaching history at a Jesuit high school somewhere in America.”

“What would be wrong with that?”

“For a cleric like Father Keegan, it would be intolerable. He wears his ambition on the sleeve of his black cassock, just like the rest of the Roman Curia. His one saving grace is that he is fiercely protective of the Holy Father.”

“We have that in common, he and I.”

“In that case, His Holiness has nothing to fear.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

Veronica arched an eyebrow. “What is it this time?”

“Another scandal, I’m afraid.”

“Is there a woman involved?”

“How did you guess?”

“Not me, I hope.”

“No, Veronica. Not you.”

She led Gabriel into an elegantly furnished sitting room and lifted a bottle of vintage Krug champagne from a crystal bucket. “It’s the last bottle from Carlo’s collection. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.” She filled two flutes, then raised hers in salutation. “To what shall we drink?”

“Old friends,” suggested Gabriel.

“Lately I’ve become allergic to the wordold. It springs to mind each time I look in the mirror. You, however, haven’t aged a bit since I saw you last.” Veronica sat down and crossed one leg over the other. “It was the day of the conclave, if I remember correctly. We watched the opening procession on television with the other Jesuits at their residence on the Borgo Santo Spirito. Then you and Luigi headed off to the Sistine Chapel, and he was gone forever.”

“Can you ever forgive me?”

“The Church took Luigi away from me many years ago, Gabriel. You merely placed him permanently beyond my reach.”

“You never see him?”

“The Vicar of Christ?”

“Luigi,” said Gabriel.